so i asked two local dealers, fletcher jones and laguna mercedes benz, if i should change my trans fluid. i talked directly to my service advisor at both dealers...the fj advisor told me that i should change my fluid and the L advisor told me that if it is shifting fine and not leaking i should not worry about it because it's fine.
from my experience the laguna dealer is a much better service center with techs and advisors that are far more knowlegable then fletcher jones.
this subject has been discussed to death but please give me some more input.
btw, my 2000 clk430 has 100k miles now. there is no problem with the trans now but i do not want to see it poop out on me in the future, is it true that the mb trans is that good where it does not need to be serviced for the life of the car like the book says?
i've also heard of people who had the fluid and filter replaced soon after have problems with the trans. like kicking into limp mode and not shifting right.

If you have 100k on the car by now and the original ATF, I'd say to change it.

I spoke with a service manager from another dealer at one of my club's functions - he recommended every 50k as preventative maintenance.

If you live in a hot climate, stop and go driving / heavy traffic all those things shorten the life of ATF...

I agree with Hal. I believe your model uses the special $14.60 per liter fluid, so fluid changes can be quite expensive if done more often than necessary. At the same time I don't believe in leaving the same fluid in there forever.

For these people who report having problems after a trans fuild change, you have to take those stories with a grain of salt... was failure the cause or effect? They don't alway tell the whole story. A lot of times people will have a nagging problem with their transmission, hoping a fluid change will cure it, only to have the transmission completely fail some time afterward. Then they go around telling people their transmission failed after a fluid change, without telling the entire story that led up to that service. Interestingly, they also never report that they service it regularly!

So far 2 for 2 say change it...anymore input before i make my final verdict?
please, more imput!
thankyou.

I'd change it if I was you. If they are that good why don't Mercedes has transmission warranty for life? Fluid is about $10.00 a quart but it's much cheaper than having to rebuild a transmission. I change my W210 ATF at about 60,000 miles - which is about 5 year worth of driving.
Don't wait for something to happen because it may be too late.

JeffreyP

Depends on how the car was driven. Do you frequently floor it and kick down a couple of gears? Do you run it with a heavy foot so the transmission shifts at higher engine rpms and under a greater load? Do you manually change gears to keep the engine in the upper rpm range? All of which are fun...but stress the drive train. Today's oils are designed to last longer and the engineers who build the transmissions know the limits. You can second guess them and "be safe" but I believe the old adage....if it ain't broke don't fix it".

Maybe you should look at if from another angle.
How long do you want to keep your car?
If you think your gonna keep it till it turns over to 200,000 miles, then I would say change it. Remember your changing the oil at 100,000 mile intervals. Not too expensive if you look at the big picture. On the other hand, if your gonna sell it before it gets to that point, don't worry about it.

Change it. I don't think those who change T fluid them immediatly develope a problem have a real cause/effect from the fluid change. Get it done right.

Oil changes are simpler and many do them way too often, why sweat changing tranny fluid after 100k, then??

My mechanic at the dealership has worked there for 15 years and told me to change it every 30k miles. Not changing it is the biggest reason for tranny failures on high mile cars. It's a hydraulic fluid and it will break down over time. He even opened his own tranny repair shop now for benz trannies!

Sunman, changing every 30K is the norm for transmissions using regular Dexron fluid. I'm pretty sure the subject fluid here is synthetic, which lasts considerably longer. Though it won't hurt the tranny, changing synthetic every 30K may be overkill.

my dealer told me that mine needed to be changed every 50,000 miles. i think the reason that people say a fluid change messes things up is that the clutches are so far gone the new fluid washes what's left of the friction material off the plates. regular matanance is cheaper than new parts.

What is the difference between MB ATF and regular ATF?
I don't think it matters at all.Do you?

ATF fluid for newer benzes is synthetic, and expensive. i think $9 a quart is what i was told, but then again that's pocket change when you think about another transmission for one of these things. so i wouldn't think about swapping brands around. if you are going to change it yourself i personaly wouldn't risk the side effects, 'cause they are not the same thing. talk to your MB parts guy at your dealership. if you got the $ just have them do it, full and add are next to nothing apart. and mine doesn't even have a transmission dipstick. i guess that's to keep someone from dumping it full of dextron3. later

I asked my dealer whether or not I need to change my tranny fluid and said I do not need to change it until 100,000 because it was synthetic and it should still be okay. My car just hit 70,000 miles and I intend to keep it for a while.
He said that they normally charge $450 to change the tranny fluid (includes both fluid and service). This is the same fellow who also refused to change my spark plugs unless I only installed the OEM bosch. I said I wanted to install the Denso iridiums and he said he would not do it even if I paid him.

So what is the deal here?
How much do other dealers charge for tranny fluid changes?
Does Strauss (and other auto houses) do this and how much?
Where is the best place for a spark plug change?
How many liters of ATF fluid do I need?
What type and brand do I need?

Thanks for all your responses.

If you want to save some money, look around for a competent independant mechanic who knows mercedes vehicles. The work you're asking isn't too demanding. Even I can do what you mentioned, and I'm not a mechanic.

I agree with staying with OEM spark plugs. There have been documented reports of people who used "premium" plugs only to have problems that were specifically traced to using the wrong plugs. Sure, you could go out and find a mechanic who'll install your Denso iridiums, and even though the customer should always be right, I think the mechanic did you a favor.

I'm not sure how many liters ATF you need for a change, buy I'm guessing 9 liters for the pan & converter, times $9.40 per liter, plus $30 for trans filter & gasket.... equals roughly $120 for parts. Shop around, you should find somebody to service the transmission cheaper. Buy your ATF from the dealer. I don't know of anything else that is appropriate. You DON'T want to mess up an expensive transmission by using the wrong fluid.

I changed my trans fluid & filter on my 98 E320 at 80K miles and there was a thin layer of sludge on the bottom of the trans pan. Since my 722.6 trans was an early build, I installed the pan magnet.

Your 2000 CLK should have the pan magnet and I recommend cleaning it (as well as the pan) since it will accumulate a lot of debris.

In my opinion, any fluid gets dirty over time and should be serviced. The filter for the 722.6 trans is relatively small. Over time I could see the filter plugging up causing a trans failure. It's worth the few extra hundred dollars to maintain the transmission every 60 to 80K miles especially if you plan on keeping your car over 100K miles.

mercedes does not make the fluid. I went to the back of my dealership and my tech showed me boxes of BG Products Synthetic fluid. www.bgprod.com. It states on the box OEM for Mercedes, Porsche, etc...

Another dealer I went to had bottles of MB fluid. So I honestly don't know now.

I just finished doing my 97 S500 Coupe (59k mi.). I used a lift at the hobby shop which was great. The process is very simple, but you need a few tools. I used the shop dipstick to check the hot & cold level of the ATF before I drained it. I also measured all the fluid that I drained from the pan and the converter (plastic pitcher from the $ store). I removed 8 liters exactly, and that is what I replaced. Checked it with the dipstick and was good to go! I also got a 27mm socket to turn the crank and a #30 Torx to remove the pan.

Total cost: $64 for ATF, $38 for dipstick, $27 for gasket & filter, lift rental $18 and cap lock .25 cents.

Sent sample to Blackstone for analysis ($20).

Where did you get your $8 / liter ATF fluid? Do you have the brand? / item number? / internet source? Could you also give me the part number for filter and gasket. Like I said, my dealer told me that I do not need to change my ATF fluid and if I insist that I want them to change it they estimate the cost to be around $400.

So I did some research and found out that Pepboys will do it for $89 if I bring the fluid and parts. Anyone have ATF changing experience with Pepboys or recommends a transmission specialist. I live in NYC by the way....

I do not have a lift but I would do it myself if I know how to.

benzbin.com, cheapest on the net that I found. You could do it if you had some ramps or jackstands to get the car up enough to get under it. I used to work on all my vehicles that way.

Cheers,
Steve

Ido not beleave that fuild will last that long i had 52.000 miles on my 97 e 210 change the fuild in pan and converter if you can make sure to use m b fuild only doug. p.s. I let mine drain over night